Tehehe, not to worry, I am not actually love. But I think an update on my relations with the lovely Mexican boys here is LONG overdue. Oh, where to begin?
(PS: It will be interesting to see if once I write this if I will actually post it for all to see . . . )
Oh my god, oh my god. Really. Where to begin? Okay--first let me proceed with straight facts. All of us American girls learned Day 1 here that somehow the majority of men in Mexico are born with these incredible genetics, remarkable in fact, that allow them to whistle extremely loudly and obnoxiously at any American woman they see. This includes when they are driving by at speeds of up to 80mph on the highway and their whistles still make it to our ears & when they are driving the roads around town, and they hold up traffic so they can stop, stare, and of course whistle. Also all the creepers seem to know the English words and phrases: "Marry me?", "I have a ring", "Beautiful", etc. It's amazing really.
But those are the creepers. Oh, those are also the guys in clubs who feel the need to approach and talk to you--but usually we just go with it because no matter how creepy guys are in clubs, you get free drinks (from the bar, not them, don't worry), and then you never talk to them again!
So then there are the actual Mexican gentlemen that I have met in my time here. The first--Carlos & Felipe a bunch of us met our first Friday night in Queretaro at one of our now favorite clubs, La Mulata. Carlos's grandmother hosts students from UO for our program, and he spotted us group of Americans very easily in La Mulata in our own private elevated booth with personal bouncer and waiter . . yeah, epitome of my life in Mexico. Anyways from then on Carlos and Felipe have become friends with almost everyone in the program, and they are just terrific guys. Always willing to help us with questions and confusion, go out, show us cool places etc. One night I was using the internet at the Centro, and was about to leave with Felipe started chatting with me on Facebook. It was about 10:00, I was about to leave and just walk back to my house. It was a Sunday evening and the streets were busy, I wasn't worried at all. And Felipe was exhausted because he had just been in Mexico City for the weekend and hadn't slept, but he insisted he come get me and drive me home. They are the best.
Then there are the guys who I have met in stores, restaurants, and around the centro. My cell phone is filled with these guys numbers lol, but usually we just hang out once for fun and theen I don't return calls :) I mean I'm just having fun, just like all of the other girls here. We all do it. And it's really nice to go out with guys because they treat you like princesses :) Pay for everythiiing, open doors--the whole shebang. Oh and it's totally normal for a boy to ask you, after mmm an hour or so, to be his girlfriend. Totally normal to say yes too lol.
On my birthday at La Mulata I met a guy named Guillermo . . . we hung out for about a week, I won't go into details because that is kinda another story. But according to his Facebook we were dating? hahahah, good to know I guess. He actually never officially asked.
Anywho, so then there are "The Starbucks Boys" who are like actually my favorite. Lee Anne met them I believe the first week here when her and some other students discovered this mall which I am sitting in right now. One worker, Lalo, took a liking to her and they exchanged numbers, but sadly no one, including her, hung out with them outside of Starbucks until after our classes were over. The first time I came to the mall and Starbucsk I met Lalo, Elyo, and Alex, and the other workers too. They were really cool guys, and during the 6 weeks of classes when ever I came to mall, I would stop in to talk with them ( and after the first few times I started receiving free Starbucks too :) ). But it was really nothing more than chatting with them while they were at work.
Then the Friday we finished classes, we have what I like to call "Day One" of my love story with a certain boy from Starbucks.
tba. . . <3
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hello Angela. Welcome to the Good Life
Before I start writing this one I have to say that I have to use the bathroom REAL bad, but I feel immensely horrible because it is almost midnight, I just got back, and what a shock—I had a problem with the lock getting into my house. At my host home when I had problems with the, oh, 7 locks it was legitimately because of the lock or key, not me. My family can vouch. Now though, I think I am just challenged when it freaking comes to using keys or opening locks. It took me like 5 minutes playing around with the ONE here, and by the time I got it unlocked Elvira had woken up and come out of her room :/ and I know that she goes to bed at 10:30. I am not even intoxicated either lol.
Anyways. So I had quite the day today. It was more or less a typical day here in Queretaro, but a little more grand. I set my alarm for 7 this morning with intentions of actually getting up that early, however did not get out of bed until 8:30ish. Elvira leaves for work around 8:00 M-F. For some reason I did NOT sleep well at all. I don’t know what it was but I was exhausted after yesterdays adventures around town yet couldn’t get to sleep for the longest time, and once I did I woke up often. I don’t really get uncomfortable and can usually sleep anywhere . . .and the house is hot but I am used to that now. So I do not know what it was. Hopefully in a bit I will sleep better.
Any who, it was super nice having the house to myself this morning. I just blasted the music and walked around without clothes—it was fantastic. Then I got to the shower. There was definitely no hot water...REALLY?! I think Elvira said there was a trick to it, but I tried for daaays and nothing but ice cold. My motivation to wake up early tomorrow is so that I can inquire about the ways of water in this house. It was after I was done showering and getting ready that I realized I had not eaten since breakfast the day before. And I was kinda hungry, but not really? How bizarre is that: Angela forgetting to eat and not even realizing, and on top of that not even being too hungry. It’s a mystery to me.
I decided I wanted to explore my new neighborhood and part of town as it was all new to me. And here I thought I had Queretaro down. Yeah. Not even close. I couldn’t locate my new street on my only map of QRO, so I set out mapless with no sense of direction since I got dropped off the night before in pretty much complete darkness in the middle of a rainstorm. In total I probably walked no joke 8-10 miles today.
My first walk out I explored a part of QRO, and possible another town up in these hills that was probably not the safest neighborhood..? There were no sidewalks, garbage everywhere, people roaming the streets, more animals than usual roaming the streets, and absolutely no businesses minus some “auto repair” shops which were probably just covers for sex trafficking or drug markets. I felt like if I were to get attacked and scream no one would care. So yeah. I got out of their real fast.
I had one of my famous mental lists going on for things I needed to find in my new neighborhood. This included: grocery story (or a lovely OXXO—the 7/11, but better, of Mexico), fruit stand, laundry mat, good restaurants/cafes, internet shacks, and major bus stops. I feel very accomplished because I found all of the necessities. However, in all my neighborhood, there are no places with internet, or any good looking restaurants, AND no cafes. Oh, how will I survive? I found an incredible Super OXXO where I bought cereal (which I am now a fan of), milk, and bread for less than 5 dollars. The only fruit stand in this area is not up to my standards and I will have to find a new one. I only purchased some apples. There is self-serve Laundromat close so that will be nice . . .but once again no internet shacks where I can pay by the minute to use dial up lol:/ Alas, I still need to post yesterdays stuff as well as this one now, tomorrow, when I find use internet.
So I am about a 15 minute walk from La Plaza de Parques and La Plaza de Boulevard which are malls with enough Americanized stores and food places to make me feel right at home. As I was exploring the Plaza de Parques and checking out all the restaurants in the food court, I saw it—my saving grace. The Italian Coffee Company: a super good café company, solely in Mexico, but super American and freaking delicious. And with the purchase of a café, free internet That is where I will have to go to use internet around my house, but I don’t know how convenient that will be because they are probably only open 8am-10pm, and I don’t wanna have to walk to the mall when it’s dark.
Most likely I’ll take buses to the other mall closer to my other house where my homeboys work at Starbucks and hook it up for me whenever I want lol. I finally realized my new location in relation to the centro and the main mall—and it’s damn far. But I figured out the buses so it’s all good :) Today I got to use the internet for like 15 minutes in Starbucks before I had to meet up with a friend to go see HARRY POTTER in English. –OMGG IT’S SO GOOD!! Love love love love love.
After Elyo(one of my friends who works at Starbucks) and I watched that, we went to one of his family members houses in a suburb outside Queretaro where basically his whole family was at. They were a super nice group of people. We started to watch a scary movie called “The Rec” I believe. It’s Spanish. Mmm 15 minutes deep I was hella into it but it got to scary for them to handle; so we switched to none other than Twilight. So yes, I have now watched Twilight, against my will I might add. I had absolutely no say. Apart from the acting being almost unbearable, I hate to admit that I actually kinda liked it. My future now holds me seeing the rest of the series. However I think I can do without reading the books. And Edward Cullen’s pure good looks make up for the horrible acting.
Soo after hanging out at their house a bit more, Elyo, his brother, his nephew, and I went to get some food before they took me home. Went to this somewhat nicer taco place, and can I just say I was not impressed? And it takes a lot for me not to be impressed with a food place, especially in Mexico, but this place just didn’t cut it. Their menu was limited and everything was pretty much the same with different kinds of tortillas. I originally ordered quesadillas, and specifically said “I would like corn quesadillas with only cheese please”. The boys can vouch. However, they brought me a chicken one? I said without the meat please, and they asked me what kind of tortilla I wanted and if I wanted just cheese. Really? Lol It was comical. And they weren’t even that good for my quesadilla standards.
On the ride to my house, Elyo’s brother put in a CD full of American music, and proceeded to blast none other than My President Is Black. I laughed for about 10 minutes straight and thought of everyone from my residence hall <3 lol. I couldn’t explain why I was laughing so much fully so gave up lol. Ahhh okay I’m super tired, so more tomorrow when I start my day off with a bus ride to Starbucks :)
Anyways. So I had quite the day today. It was more or less a typical day here in Queretaro, but a little more grand. I set my alarm for 7 this morning with intentions of actually getting up that early, however did not get out of bed until 8:30ish. Elvira leaves for work around 8:00 M-F. For some reason I did NOT sleep well at all. I don’t know what it was but I was exhausted after yesterdays adventures around town yet couldn’t get to sleep for the longest time, and once I did I woke up often. I don’t really get uncomfortable and can usually sleep anywhere . . .and the house is hot but I am used to that now. So I do not know what it was. Hopefully in a bit I will sleep better.
Any who, it was super nice having the house to myself this morning. I just blasted the music and walked around without clothes—it was fantastic. Then I got to the shower. There was definitely no hot water...REALLY?! I think Elvira said there was a trick to it, but I tried for daaays and nothing but ice cold. My motivation to wake up early tomorrow is so that I can inquire about the ways of water in this house. It was after I was done showering and getting ready that I realized I had not eaten since breakfast the day before. And I was kinda hungry, but not really? How bizarre is that: Angela forgetting to eat and not even realizing, and on top of that not even being too hungry. It’s a mystery to me.
I decided I wanted to explore my new neighborhood and part of town as it was all new to me. And here I thought I had Queretaro down. Yeah. Not even close. I couldn’t locate my new street on my only map of QRO, so I set out mapless with no sense of direction since I got dropped off the night before in pretty much complete darkness in the middle of a rainstorm. In total I probably walked no joke 8-10 miles today.
My first walk out I explored a part of QRO, and possible another town up in these hills that was probably not the safest neighborhood..? There were no sidewalks, garbage everywhere, people roaming the streets, more animals than usual roaming the streets, and absolutely no businesses minus some “auto repair” shops which were probably just covers for sex trafficking or drug markets. I felt like if I were to get attacked and scream no one would care. So yeah. I got out of their real fast.
I had one of my famous mental lists going on for things I needed to find in my new neighborhood. This included: grocery story (or a lovely OXXO—the 7/11, but better, of Mexico), fruit stand, laundry mat, good restaurants/cafes, internet shacks, and major bus stops. I feel very accomplished because I found all of the necessities. However, in all my neighborhood, there are no places with internet, or any good looking restaurants, AND no cafes. Oh, how will I survive? I found an incredible Super OXXO where I bought cereal (which I am now a fan of), milk, and bread for less than 5 dollars. The only fruit stand in this area is not up to my standards and I will have to find a new one. I only purchased some apples. There is self-serve Laundromat close so that will be nice . . .but once again no internet shacks where I can pay by the minute to use dial up lol:/ Alas, I still need to post yesterdays stuff as well as this one now, tomorrow, when I find use internet.
So I am about a 15 minute walk from La Plaza de Parques and La Plaza de Boulevard which are malls with enough Americanized stores and food places to make me feel right at home. As I was exploring the Plaza de Parques and checking out all the restaurants in the food court, I saw it—my saving grace. The Italian Coffee Company: a super good café company, solely in Mexico, but super American and freaking delicious. And with the purchase of a café, free internet That is where I will have to go to use internet around my house, but I don’t know how convenient that will be because they are probably only open 8am-10pm, and I don’t wanna have to walk to the mall when it’s dark.
Most likely I’ll take buses to the other mall closer to my other house where my homeboys work at Starbucks and hook it up for me whenever I want lol. I finally realized my new location in relation to the centro and the main mall—and it’s damn far. But I figured out the buses so it’s all good :) Today I got to use the internet for like 15 minutes in Starbucks before I had to meet up with a friend to go see HARRY POTTER in English. –OMGG IT’S SO GOOD!! Love love love love love.
After Elyo(one of my friends who works at Starbucks) and I watched that, we went to one of his family members houses in a suburb outside Queretaro where basically his whole family was at. They were a super nice group of people. We started to watch a scary movie called “The Rec” I believe. It’s Spanish. Mmm 15 minutes deep I was hella into it but it got to scary for them to handle; so we switched to none other than Twilight. So yes, I have now watched Twilight, against my will I might add. I had absolutely no say. Apart from the acting being almost unbearable, I hate to admit that I actually kinda liked it. My future now holds me seeing the rest of the series. However I think I can do without reading the books. And Edward Cullen’s pure good looks make up for the horrible acting.
Soo after hanging out at their house a bit more, Elyo, his brother, his nephew, and I went to get some food before they took me home. Went to this somewhat nicer taco place, and can I just say I was not impressed? And it takes a lot for me not to be impressed with a food place, especially in Mexico, but this place just didn’t cut it. Their menu was limited and everything was pretty much the same with different kinds of tortillas. I originally ordered quesadillas, and specifically said “I would like corn quesadillas with only cheese please”. The boys can vouch. However, they brought me a chicken one? I said without the meat please, and they asked me what kind of tortilla I wanted and if I wanted just cheese. Really? Lol It was comical. And they weren’t even that good for my quesadilla standards.
On the ride to my house, Elyo’s brother put in a CD full of American music, and proceeded to blast none other than My President Is Black. I laughed for about 10 minutes straight and thought of everyone from my residence hall <3 lol. I couldn’t explain why I was laughing so much fully so gave up lol. Ahhh okay I’m super tired, so more tomorrow when I start my day off with a bus ride to Starbucks :)
Where I am Living for the Next 3 Weeks
So here I am sitting on my bed in what will be my room for the next three weeks. It is quite the quaint little house I am lucky enough to stay in; but it works perfectly & I absolutely love it. I am staying in a two bedroom, one bathroom, with no dining room house in a part of Queretaro somewhat far from everything I know. Tomorrow I shall explore and figure out how to get to all my friends lol.
Omar’s mother, Elvira, is super cute and very nice. She doesn’t speak a word of English which is very good because now that most of my American friends are gone I want to speak Spanish all the time. We talked a lot tonight, and then her only daughter came over for a bit with her 12 year old son after his football practice. I learned that Omar has 2 daughters and a son!!! What the heck Omar—I thought we were buds and I don’t even know this about you? Lol, I feel like I’ll learn more about him than I’ll ever want to from his mom though in our time together.
It’s weird knowing I’ll never live in my old house again and that when I return to visit my family, it won’t be to the same house. I really loved the mansion of a house. Although it wasn’t up kept well at all, it was beautiful and traditional and unique. My host family’s new house is still traditional Mexican style, but it is SO much smaller and looks like all the others in the neighborhood. I already miss my queen sized bed too :( I have always liked smaller beds, but I guess that is because I never knew anything better? Queen sized beds are wonderful because you can keep all your stuff next to you and still sleep! Story of my life with my room in my host home: my lap top, books, backpack, purse, and hair stuff were all on one side, and I slept on the other. Oh how I will miss you.
I have hot water here and I could not be happier. It was not as bad as I thought it would be without it, however it is the little things that I truly appreciate :) What a shock though: no internet here. And this time no one else’s internet for me to even guess the password to. Oh TrendNET, how I will miss you as well and your one bar of signal that would allow to somewhat connect to the internet. So though I am writing this now, I will have to post this tomorrow, most likely in a little shack where I’ll pay by the hour to use internet. Can’t wait to see how tomorrow will go.
Omar’s mother, Elvira, is super cute and very nice. She doesn’t speak a word of English which is very good because now that most of my American friends are gone I want to speak Spanish all the time. We talked a lot tonight, and then her only daughter came over for a bit with her 12 year old son after his football practice. I learned that Omar has 2 daughters and a son!!! What the heck Omar—I thought we were buds and I don’t even know this about you? Lol, I feel like I’ll learn more about him than I’ll ever want to from his mom though in our time together.
It’s weird knowing I’ll never live in my old house again and that when I return to visit my family, it won’t be to the same house. I really loved the mansion of a house. Although it wasn’t up kept well at all, it was beautiful and traditional and unique. My host family’s new house is still traditional Mexican style, but it is SO much smaller and looks like all the others in the neighborhood. I already miss my queen sized bed too :( I have always liked smaller beds, but I guess that is because I never knew anything better? Queen sized beds are wonderful because you can keep all your stuff next to you and still sleep! Story of my life with my room in my host home: my lap top, books, backpack, purse, and hair stuff were all on one side, and I slept on the other. Oh how I will miss you.
I have hot water here and I could not be happier. It was not as bad as I thought it would be without it, however it is the little things that I truly appreciate :) What a shock though: no internet here. And this time no one else’s internet for me to even guess the password to. Oh TrendNET, how I will miss you as well and your one bar of signal that would allow to somewhat connect to the internet. So though I am writing this now, I will have to post this tomorrow, most likely in a little shack where I’ll pay by the hour to use internet. Can’t wait to see how tomorrow will go.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
No Longer Homeless
Okay so homeless is somewhat of an overstatement . . . somewhat. My host family however couldn't keep me anymore and stayed an extra night in their old house last night so I could sleep here too lol. I looked into hostels and the good ones were full . . . renters really didn't want to rent rooms for less than a month which is totally understandable.
Thank godness I have Omar, who has definitely saved the day more than once for me while I have been here. Until August 20th I will be living in a room at, well it's technically his house but his mom lives there too, but yeah in a house with his mom in a different neighborhood in Queretaro. I just got done talking with both of them at Mizha Crepe, (PS Omar is the manager at Mizha Crepe, one of my favorite restaurants here) now I am home but my family is not. I am all packed up and ready to go, I just have to somewhat say my goodbyes. I plan on seeing my host family a couple of more times before I leave August 20th FOR CABO WITH OLIVIA!!!! because those are my new plans :) :)
Ahh okay sorry this post is so unorganized, I'm just really flustered ksfjhafhk gfakgt and have to go email my mommy lol.
My next post will be from my new home here in Queretaro :)
Thank godness I have Omar, who has definitely saved the day more than once for me while I have been here. Until August 20th I will be living in a room at, well it's technically his house but his mom lives there too, but yeah in a house with his mom in a different neighborhood in Queretaro. I just got done talking with both of them at Mizha Crepe, (PS Omar is the manager at Mizha Crepe, one of my favorite restaurants here) now I am home but my family is not. I am all packed up and ready to go, I just have to somewhat say my goodbyes. I plan on seeing my host family a couple of more times before I leave August 20th FOR CABO WITH OLIVIA!!!! because those are my new plans :) :)
Ahh okay sorry this post is so unorganized, I'm just really flustered ksfjhafhk gfakgt and have to go email my mommy lol.
My next post will be from my new home here in Queretaro :)
Monday, July 27, 2009
42 Bug Bites Later . . .
So it has been awhile since I have posted anything on here. I write all the time, just a lot of it is for only myself or I think it would be incredibly boring for someone else to read lol; alas it is not posted on here.
School is out for the summer :) lol, classes finished last Friday. I am very satisfied with my grades in my classes, I worked really hard these past six weeks and got a 97% overall :)
I am glad that I have a little break from school because Fall Term is going to be a lot for me. However my classes here in Mexico were possibly the best classes I have ever taken and I kind of miss them. I plan on staying in touch with my teachers via email because they are some really wonderful woman and I learned so much from them.
Now that classes are done I am very unsure of what I will be doing with my life. As of right now many things are up in the air and I am hoping that I will figure everything out by tonight so I have somewhere to sleep :)
"Nadie escarmienta en cabeza ajena" - a Mexican proverb that basically means you can't learn something if someone else is doing it. . . you have to figure out things for yourself. Story of my life right now and I am absolutely loving it.
More to come hopefully very soon . . . like this evening once I have an idea of what I will be doing the rest of my stay here in Mexico.
Side note I am making a lot of lists lol. I am writing down interesting recipes of common Mexican dishes that aren't Americanized back in the states. I want to cook a lot when I return to the states, my fall term roommates will be lucky. I am also keeping a list of all my crazy stories...which btw are a lot, and we had to do a timeline the 20 most important events in our life thus far, so I have that in Spanish and it is quite funny if I do say so myself!
School is out for the summer :) lol, classes finished last Friday. I am very satisfied with my grades in my classes, I worked really hard these past six weeks and got a 97% overall :)
I am glad that I have a little break from school because Fall Term is going to be a lot for me. However my classes here in Mexico were possibly the best classes I have ever taken and I kind of miss them. I plan on staying in touch with my teachers via email because they are some really wonderful woman and I learned so much from them.
Now that classes are done I am very unsure of what I will be doing with my life. As of right now many things are up in the air and I am hoping that I will figure everything out by tonight so I have somewhere to sleep :)
"Nadie escarmienta en cabeza ajena" - a Mexican proverb that basically means you can't learn something if someone else is doing it. . . you have to figure out things for yourself. Story of my life right now and I am absolutely loving it.
More to come hopefully very soon . . . like this evening once I have an idea of what I will be doing the rest of my stay here in Mexico.
Side note I am making a lot of lists lol. I am writing down interesting recipes of common Mexican dishes that aren't Americanized back in the states. I want to cook a lot when I return to the states, my fall term roommates will be lucky. I am also keeping a list of all my crazy stories...which btw are a lot, and we had to do a timeline the 20 most important events in our life thus far, so I have that in Spanish and it is quite funny if I do say so myself!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
A 7 Hour Siesta
No, no. Not 7 hour fiesta, but siesta. Yes, a 7 hour nap that I decided to take today. And now I am studying for our midterms tomorrow and cannot sleep so I have decided to post.
Last weekend our group traveled back to Mexico City for the weekend. We got to travel to and experience so much of Mexico that despite it being a hard personal week/weekend (I am just really missing everyone back in the states), it was truly an amazing trip. Honestly I wake up everyday feeling like the luckiest girl in the world for my wonderful life, but experiences like Mexico City just make me even more thankful for my life and all I am getting to do with it!
After a very chill Thursday evening of just sleeping, packing, and eating, we all met up at the Alameda Hildalgo, a major park in Queretaro, to load onto the buses. The bus ride included Juno in Spanish which was very entertaining, and our first stop was about an hour outside of Mexico City at Teotihuacan.
Teotihuacan is an ancient city of Mexico with almost all of its pyramids and buildings still standing. We started off at a museum explaining the history of the people that lived there and what has happened over the years and it was extremely interesting. I want to research and learn more about the place. We continued to climb the highest pyramids, and explore around. The entire time there we locals following us around trying to get us to buy their stuff. This isn't uncommon for Mexico at all, but these were quite possibly the most demanding vendors I have seen thus far. And some of them sold the strangest things. Like rock shaped penises? And whistles that sounded like jaugars? Very odd.
Dah! I want to be adding in pictures right now, but my internet connection like isn't strong enough to let me do so? Laame, I'll post pictures when I can.
Anyways after tiring ourselves out at the ruins, we headed into the "town" for some comida. I had my first enchiladas in Mexico/best ones of my life. Side note: I am beginning to handle my spice a little better, and even perfer a little hotter salsa with my food sometimes now!
Once we were full of delicious food, we continued on our way to Mexico City. I really love that City, it is so interesting and unique to any other city I have seen. Granted it is the second biggest city in the world (Toyoko has recently pulled ahead), so I expect it to be unlike any other place I have seen, it still is just mesmorizing.
We pulled up to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a beautifully constructed building complete with gargoyles and statues. Inside the Palacio are housed some of the most renowned murals from/of Mexico. There were also a couple of other galeries of various Mexican artists. We were not allowed to take any pictures inside unfortunately.
After learning even more about Mexico through the murals, we checked into Hotel Canada. We ended up staying very close to where Lee Anne, McKenna, Rebecca, and I stayed our first night in Mexico City. Our night was fun, we ate out across the street and hung out with everyone in the hotel after walking around a bit. Can I just say what are the odds, but we ended up seeing the same people we had met weeks ago in the city not only Friday night, but Saturday night too. They are crazy men with dreadlocks. Anyways.
Saturday morning we had a bomb breakfast overlooking the city, then we headed to some ruins in the historic district of the city. I have to find out the name still. It was a spontanious trip and therefore not on our itinerary. From there we went to the world renound Museum of Anthropolgy. AMAZING. I am still rather confused about some things that I saw/learned about, and will have to look into some things more, but essentially this museum houses everything that ever existed in Central/South America. Including Lucy. . . I think. More on that later once I figure it out.
We spent hours there and it was not enough time, however we were all starving by the end and just wanted to eat. We ate in a really nice park that is basically set up like a carnival everyday in Mexico. Ate some medicore food, but had a lot to look at, experience, and take pictures of :)
We then preceded to walk to the National History Museum of Chapultepec . . . aka A CASTLE!! The nicest castle in all of Mexico, and for all I know the world. Walking around the marble black and white checkered floors with a view of all of Mexico City from whatever window you looked from, completely decorated with all of the furniture and belongings from when Maximillian lived there himself gave a whole new meaning to Taylor Swift's - "Love Story". Needless to say I have decided that I am going to marry royalty because I was meant to live in a castle and be a princess. I'll even wear a corset if necessary. We did not spend nearly enough time exploring the castle/museum, and if we do get to go back to Mexico City for any lenght of time, hands down I am going back.
After that we went back to Hotel Canada and had a fun night...ya ya ya.
Then, Sunday morning we started our day at the Palacio Nacional. It is basically the White House of Mexico. Complete with all of their documents of independence and other things relevant to their independence and government. It was extremely interesting and I still can not believe I saw all that I did there. I haven't even been to my countries capital!
After that I think we saw more ruins...if my memory serves me right. It was a quick trip though. Then we headed to Coyoacan, a small town outside Mexico City where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's house now turned into museum is. I was interested in both of their work before this, but actually seeing where/how/ and why they lived the way they did has inspired me to learn much more about them. Their house is one of the most interesting and tranquil places I have ever been too, and Coyoacan is a large community, but it has a quiant artisan area that was fun to explore afterwards.
After one more ruin . . . which was spontaneous again so I need to figure out the name, we finally arrived back to Queretaro. It was such an amazing weekend, and getting through classes this week has been hard. It is crazy that our midterms are tomorrow! I am halfway done with classes! My Spanish is tremendously better, and next week I am going to a meeting regarding volunteer stuff, so hopefully I will get all of that figured out.
And by the way this whole time I have been in Mexico, state election stuff has been going on. It's pretty much the equivalent of Obama vs. McCain status. We are definitely here during a unique time, and I am so happy I am getting to experience and learn all about their politics. Elections are Sunday, and after that I feel like a lot will change depending on whomever wins. My senora has been helping with one of the main candidates, and she said that if he wins she might get a job with the government. That would be amazing!
Ah okay enough . . . I should really catch a few more hours of sleep :)
Last weekend our group traveled back to Mexico City for the weekend. We got to travel to and experience so much of Mexico that despite it being a hard personal week/weekend (I am just really missing everyone back in the states), it was truly an amazing trip. Honestly I wake up everyday feeling like the luckiest girl in the world for my wonderful life, but experiences like Mexico City just make me even more thankful for my life and all I am getting to do with it!
After a very chill Thursday evening of just sleeping, packing, and eating, we all met up at the Alameda Hildalgo, a major park in Queretaro, to load onto the buses. The bus ride included Juno in Spanish which was very entertaining, and our first stop was about an hour outside of Mexico City at Teotihuacan.
Teotihuacan is an ancient city of Mexico with almost all of its pyramids and buildings still standing. We started off at a museum explaining the history of the people that lived there and what has happened over the years and it was extremely interesting. I want to research and learn more about the place. We continued to climb the highest pyramids, and explore around. The entire time there we locals following us around trying to get us to buy their stuff. This isn't uncommon for Mexico at all, but these were quite possibly the most demanding vendors I have seen thus far. And some of them sold the strangest things. Like rock shaped penises? And whistles that sounded like jaugars? Very odd.
Dah! I want to be adding in pictures right now, but my internet connection like isn't strong enough to let me do so? Laame, I'll post pictures when I can.
Anyways after tiring ourselves out at the ruins, we headed into the "town" for some comida. I had my first enchiladas in Mexico/best ones of my life. Side note: I am beginning to handle my spice a little better, and even perfer a little hotter salsa with my food sometimes now!
Once we were full of delicious food, we continued on our way to Mexico City. I really love that City, it is so interesting and unique to any other city I have seen. Granted it is the second biggest city in the world (Toyoko has recently pulled ahead), so I expect it to be unlike any other place I have seen, it still is just mesmorizing.
We pulled up to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a beautifully constructed building complete with gargoyles and statues. Inside the Palacio are housed some of the most renowned murals from/of Mexico. There were also a couple of other galeries of various Mexican artists. We were not allowed to take any pictures inside unfortunately.
After learning even more about Mexico through the murals, we checked into Hotel Canada. We ended up staying very close to where Lee Anne, McKenna, Rebecca, and I stayed our first night in Mexico City. Our night was fun, we ate out across the street and hung out with everyone in the hotel after walking around a bit. Can I just say what are the odds, but we ended up seeing the same people we had met weeks ago in the city not only Friday night, but Saturday night too. They are crazy men with dreadlocks. Anyways.
Saturday morning we had a bomb breakfast overlooking the city, then we headed to some ruins in the historic district of the city. I have to find out the name still. It was a spontanious trip and therefore not on our itinerary. From there we went to the world renound Museum of Anthropolgy. AMAZING. I am still rather confused about some things that I saw/learned about, and will have to look into some things more, but essentially this museum houses everything that ever existed in Central/South America. Including Lucy. . . I think. More on that later once I figure it out.
We spent hours there and it was not enough time, however we were all starving by the end and just wanted to eat. We ate in a really nice park that is basically set up like a carnival everyday in Mexico. Ate some medicore food, but had a lot to look at, experience, and take pictures of :)
We then preceded to walk to the National History Museum of Chapultepec . . . aka A CASTLE!! The nicest castle in all of Mexico, and for all I know the world. Walking around the marble black and white checkered floors with a view of all of Mexico City from whatever window you looked from, completely decorated with all of the furniture and belongings from when Maximillian lived there himself gave a whole new meaning to Taylor Swift's - "Love Story". Needless to say I have decided that I am going to marry royalty because I was meant to live in a castle and be a princess. I'll even wear a corset if necessary. We did not spend nearly enough time exploring the castle/museum, and if we do get to go back to Mexico City for any lenght of time, hands down I am going back.
After that we went back to Hotel Canada and had a fun night...ya ya ya.
Then, Sunday morning we started our day at the Palacio Nacional. It is basically the White House of Mexico. Complete with all of their documents of independence and other things relevant to their independence and government. It was extremely interesting and I still can not believe I saw all that I did there. I haven't even been to my countries capital!
After that I think we saw more ruins...if my memory serves me right. It was a quick trip though. Then we headed to Coyoacan, a small town outside Mexico City where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's house now turned into museum is. I was interested in both of their work before this, but actually seeing where/how/ and why they lived the way they did has inspired me to learn much more about them. Their house is one of the most interesting and tranquil places I have ever been too, and Coyoacan is a large community, but it has a quiant artisan area that was fun to explore afterwards.
After one more ruin . . . which was spontaneous again so I need to figure out the name, we finally arrived back to Queretaro. It was such an amazing weekend, and getting through classes this week has been hard. It is crazy that our midterms are tomorrow! I am halfway done with classes! My Spanish is tremendously better, and next week I am going to a meeting regarding volunteer stuff, so hopefully I will get all of that figured out.
And by the way this whole time I have been in Mexico, state election stuff has been going on. It's pretty much the equivalent of Obama vs. McCain status. We are definitely here during a unique time, and I am so happy I am getting to experience and learn all about their politics. Elections are Sunday, and after that I feel like a lot will change depending on whomever wins. My senora has been helping with one of the main candidates, and she said that if he wins she might get a job with the government. That would be amazing!
Ah okay enough . . . I should really catch a few more hours of sleep :)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Our American Day
PS: Tuesday was the most American day ever. Let me explain. First off, it was raining, storming, and icky all day: not Mexico-like at all. We are all confused and disappointed by the weather. Classes were fun and interesting as usual, but for once we did not have any homework!! After school we were lost . . . no homework to do . . . and no want to do anything outside because the weather was so bad!
So, I came home and slept for a few hours. When I woke up I ate some food, and what a shock I have no idea what I ate lol, and then went over to Lee Anne’s house. Mckenna met up with us, and when Lee went out with another friend, Mckenna and I went to the mall. The main mall here is very small, but very modern and expensive. Aka—American. There is a Starbucks, Lacoste, Zara, Athlete’s Foot, Sears, Steven Madden, the list goes on. Walking into it is like walking into any mall in the states, just everything is in Spanish.
Mckenna and I walked around for a bit like teenagers who think they are cool do after school in the states. Yeah…we felt really cool. For some reason no one was doing anything that night, everyone was just chilling at their homes. At 9 the mall closed, so we headed to what we knew would be open: Walmart. Awful right? Ah I know, but I really needed some loofas. So we hung out there for a bit and then figured out we were hungry.
To McDonald’s it was! Fries and a soft serve cone hit the spot. I seriously never do so many typical American things in California or Oregon. I never go to fast food, and Walmart in the US is bad enough, I cannot even imagine it in Mexico. Oh globalization.
So, I came home and slept for a few hours. When I woke up I ate some food, and what a shock I have no idea what I ate lol, and then went over to Lee Anne’s house. Mckenna met up with us, and when Lee went out with another friend, Mckenna and I went to the mall. The main mall here is very small, but very modern and expensive. Aka—American. There is a Starbucks, Lacoste, Zara, Athlete’s Foot, Sears, Steven Madden, the list goes on. Walking into it is like walking into any mall in the states, just everything is in Spanish.
Mckenna and I walked around for a bit like teenagers who think they are cool do after school in the states. Yeah…we felt really cool. For some reason no one was doing anything that night, everyone was just chilling at their homes. At 9 the mall closed, so we headed to what we knew would be open: Walmart. Awful right? Ah I know, but I really needed some loofas. So we hung out there for a bit and then figured out we were hungry.
To McDonald’s it was! Fries and a soft serve cone hit the spot. I seriously never do so many typical American things in California or Oregon. I never go to fast food, and Walmart in the US is bad enough, I cannot even imagine it in Mexico. Oh globalization.
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